Evaluation of the effects of extracts of Maytenus imbricata (Celastraceae) on the treatment of inflammatory and metabolic dysfunction induced by high-refined carbohydrate diet.

The Maytenus genus is a member of the Celastraceae family. Numerous medicinal uses were assigned to species of this genus, with the use of roots, bark, and leaves for the treatment of gastric ulcers, as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiallergic, antitumor, among others. Several studies have demonstrated that natural products derived from plants have an important role in the prevention and treatment of obesity. Accordingly, we evaluated the effect of Maytenus imbricata extracts in the treatment of obesity induced by diet rich in refined carbohydrate (HC). BALB/c mice were fed chow or HC diet for 8 weeks. At the beginning of the 9th week, the HC group was subdivided into three groups: (i) group of animals that continued to consume only HC diet; (ii) the group of animals fed HC diet supplemented with ethyl acetate extract of M. imbricata roots (HC + EAE); (iii) the group of animals fed HC diet supplemented with extract in hexane/ethyl ether (HC + HEE). The period of extracts supplementation was 4 weeks. It was observed that EAE and EHE when added to the HC diet modulated the metabolic and inflammatory changes, such as: reduced the adipocytes area, improved glucose intolerance, reduced the levels of triglycerides and resistin in serum, and the number of total leukocytes in blood. In the epididymal adipose tissue, the extracts reduced proinflammatory mediators' concentration. According to the results, it was concluded that the species Maytenus imbricata has the potential to be used for the treatment of obesity.

Detection of the antiviral activity of epicatechin isolated from Salacia crassifolia (Celastraceae) against Mayaro virus based on protein C homology modelling and virtual screening.

Mayaro fever, caused by Mayaro virus (MAYV) is a sub-lethal disease with symptoms that are easily confused with those of dengue fever, except for polyarthralgia, which may culminate in physical incapacitation. Recently, outbreaks of MAYV have been documented in metropolitan areas, and to date, there is no therapy or vaccine available. Moreover, there is no information regarding the three-dimensional structure of the viral proteins of MAYV, which is important in the search for antivirals. In this work, we constructed a three-dimensional model of protein C of MAYV by homology modelling, and this was employed in a manner similar to that of receptors in virtual screening studies to evaluate 590 molecules as prospective antiviral agents. In vitro bioassays were utilized to confirm the potential antiviral activity of the flavonoid epicatechin isolated from Salacia crassifolia (Celastraceae). The virtual screening showed that six flavonoids were promising ligands for protein C. The bioassays showed potent antiviral action of epicatechin, which protected the cells from almost all of the effects of viral infection. An effective concentration (EC50) of 0.247 µmol/mL was observed with a selectivity index (SI) of 7. The cytotoxicity assay showed that epicatechin has low toxicity, with a 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) greater than 1.723 µmol/mL. Epicatechin was found to be twice as potent as the reference antiviral ribavirin. Furthermore, a replication kinetics assay showed a strong inhibitory effect of epicatechin on MAYV growth, with a reduction of at least four logs in virus production. Our results indicate that epicatechin is a promising candidate for further testing as an antiviral agent against Mayaro virus and other alphaviruses.

Tingenone, a pentacyclic triterpene, induces peripheral antinociception due to cannabinoid receptors activation in mice.

Several works have shown that triterpenes induce peripheral antinociception by activation of cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids; besides, several research groups have reported activation of cannabinoid receptors in peripheral antinociception. The aim of this study was to assess the involvement of the cannabinoid system in the antinociceptive effect induced by tingenone against hyperalgesia evoked by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) at peripheral level. The paw pressure test was used and the hyperalgesia was induced by intraplantar injection of PGE2 (2 µg/paw). All drugs were injected subcutaneously in the hind paws of male Swiss mice. Tingenone (200 µg/paw) administered into the right hind paw induced a local antinociceptive effect, that was antagonized by AM630, a selective antagonist to CB2 cannabinoid receptor. AM251, a selective antagonist to CB1 cannabinoid receptor, did not alter the peripheral antinociceptive effect of tingenone. MAFP, a fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor; VDM11, an anandamide reuptake inhibitor; and JZL184, monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) inhibitor did not potentiate the peripheral antinociceptive effect of the lower dose of tingenone (50 µg/paw). The results suggest that tingenone induced a peripheral antinociceptive effect via cannabinoid receptor activation. Therefore, this study suggests a pharmacological potential for a new analgesic drug.

New jacaranone glucoside from Jacaranda oxyphylla leaves.

Jacaranda oxyphylla Cham. is popularly known as 'caroba-de-São-Paulo' and it is used in traditional medicine for microbial infections. A new phytoquinoid (α/ß-glucoside-4-phenylacetate-6-(1-hydroxy-4-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-acetate) (1) was isolated from J. oxyphylla leaves, together with three known compounds: quercetin-3-O-ß-d-galactoside (2), verbascoside (3) and polystyrene (4). Their chemical structures were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques and by comparison with the related known compounds. In addition, it was found a pronounced acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity for the quinoid 1 (100.0 ± 0.8%) and phenolic compounds 2 and 3 (99.9 ± 0.7 and 99.3 ± 0.5%, respectively), if compared to the standard eserine (92.7 ± 0.4%), that was analysed by a microplate spectrophotometer.

Antimicrobial activity of synthetic bornyl benzoates against Trypanosoma cruzi.

We report here for the first time the in vitro effects of (1S,2R,4S)-1,7,7-trimethyl-bicyclo[2·2·1]heptan-2-yl-3',4',5'-trimethoxy benzoate (1) and (1S,2R,4S)-1,7,7-trimethyl-bicyclo[2·2·1]heptan-2-yl benzoate (2) on the growth and ultrastructure of Trypanosoma cruzi. These two synthetic compounds exerted an antiproliferative effect on the epimastigote forms of the parasite. The ICs(50/72h) of two synthetic L-bornyl benzoates, 1 and 2, was 10·1 and 12·8 µg/ml, respectively. Both compounds were more selective against epimastigotes than HEp-2 cells. Ultrastructural analysis revealed intense cytoplasmic vacuolization and the appearance of cytoplasmic materials surrounded by membranes. The treatment of peritoneal macrophages with compounds 1 and 2 caused a significant decrease in the number of T. cruzi-infected cells. L-Bornyl benzoate derivatives may serve as a potential source for the development of more effective and safer chemotherapeutic agents against T. cruzi infections.

Constituintes voláteis de Mentha pulegium L. e Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng / Volatile constituents of Mentha pulegium L. and Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng

Nesse trabalho foi investigado a composição química de óleos essenciais de duas plantas medicinais cultivadas em Ilhéus, Brasil, Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. (hortelã-grosso) e Mentha pulegium L. (poejo). Os óleos essenciais foram extraídos das folhas frescas por hidrodestilação e foram analisados por CG/FID e CG-EM, na primavera e no inverno. P. amboinicus forneceu, tanto na primavera como no inverno, 0,10 por cento de óleo sendo timol o componente majoritário. M. pulegium forneceu na primavera 0,20 por cento de óleo e no inverno 0,09 por cento. Os componentes majoritários dos óleos foram pulegona e trans-cariofileno; borneol, mentol e piperitona foram identificados em menores quantidades. No inverno foram observados maiores quantidades de mentol e isomentol. Acetatos de neoisomentila, de mentila e de isometila foram observados somente no inverno. Esse trabalho contribui para o conhecimento das espécies vegetais cultivadas na região do sul da Bahia.

This work investigated the chemical composition of the essential oils of two medicinal plants grown in Ilhéus Municipality, Bahia State, Brazil: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng (Mexican mint) and Mentha pulegium L. (pennyroyal). The essential oils were extracted from fresh leaves by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS, in the spring and in the winter. In both seasons, P. amboinicus yielded 0.10 percent oil and had thymol as major component. M. pulegium yielded 0.20 percent and 0.09 percent oil in the spring and winter, respectively. The major components were pulegone and trans-caryophyllene, whereas borneol, menthol and piperitone were identified at small quantities. Higher menthol and isomenthol levels were detected in the winter. In addition, neoisomenthyl, menthyl and isomenthyl acetates were only observed in the winter. This work contributes to the knowledge of plant species grown in southern Bahia.

Improved criterion-referenced assessment in indirect tracking of haemophilia A using a 0.23 cM-resolution dense polymorphic marker set.

In haemophilia A, linkage analysis with coagulation factor VIII (F8) intragenic and/or neighbouring extragenic short tandem repeats (STRs) enables indirect tracking F8 pathogenic allelic variant-carriers. Even where DNA sequencing is available, linkage analysis still has a role if no causative or candidate mutation is unveiled. The cumulative heterozygosity rate of the available multiplexed STRs haplotyping assays rarely reaches 100%. This means that in a proportion of women these loci are uninformative. The norm-referenced assessment is based on at least one informative marker criterion. We reasoned that by typing a dense market set, spanning a small fraction of recombination, we should be able to improve assessment. The aim of this study was to improve criterion-referenced assessment in polymorphism segregation analyses using a low-recombination fraction and dense informative STRs set. The multiplex quantitative fluorescence PCR assay comprises four novel tetranucleotide and pentanucleotide STRs distant < or = 0.15 cM from the F8 gene, and three F8 intragenic dinucleotide STRs, mapped to a 0.23 cM interval spanning the F8 on human chromosome band Xq28. We determined heterozygosity rates and allele frequencies from 100 unrelated healthy females. To investigate about segregation stability, we typed 50 true trios (mother, daughter and father) and 50 true mother-and-son duos from the general population. The heterozygosity rates for the extragenic markers ranged 0.49-0.76. The 0.23 cM-resolution heptaplex rendered a cumulative heterozygosity of 0.89 for a minimum of two informative markers, with at least one F8 intragenic. The heptaplex assay enabled improving the criterion-referenced assessment in indirect carrier-detection.

Structural determination of 3beta-stearyloxy-urs-12-ene from Maytenus salicifolia by 1D and 2D NMR and quantitative 13C NMR spectroscopy.

Six pentacyclic triterpenoids, 3beta-stearyloxy-urs-12-ene (1), friedelin (2), 3beta-friedelinol (3), alpha-amyrin (4), beta-amyrin (5), and lupeol (6), have been isolated from the hexane extract of Maytenus salicifolia Reissek (Celastraceae) leaves. The molecular and structural formula as well as the stereochemistry of a new pentacyclic triterpene (1) were determined using data obtained from 1H and 13C NMR spectra, DEPT135 and by 2D HSQC, HMBC, COSY and NOESY experiments. The molecular formula C48H84O2 was established using quantitative 13C NMR, and the molecular weight (692 Da) was confirmed by elemental analysis and mass spectrometry (GC-MS).